Each and every Marine in the room slowly moved their hand to a salute, and they held it.
Oh, they held it for a while, too.
They stayed like that until Ivan pushed the drawer in. Before it was closed, Ivan saluted him again.
Yeah, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place—including the Marines.
When he pulled something from his pocket and then grabbed the tape dispenser from the counter, they watched.
On the front of the drawer, Ivan taped a Purple Heart to the front, and a note card that he proceeded to write on.
‘Here rests the very honorable Captain Jet Donato. A Marine, a decorated warrior, a brother, a friend, and a man who will never be forgotten.’
“Oohrah,” they said, and then the Marines walked away, leaving the room.
Forget saying goodbye to Vivian.
Elizabeth needed a moment.
Heading toward the drawer, she placed her hands on it, and then whispered something that none of her husbands heard. Then, she walked out of the room, leaving them behind.
They heard over Callen’s com that security was on her, so they let her leave.
“I’ll go,” Ethan said.
Only, Gene, who’d been silent the whole time, stopped him.
“I know how she feels and what she’s fighting. I lived on that side of the line for a few years as a Hunter. I’ll go make sure she’s okay.”
No one fought him.
Because he was right.
None of them were equipped to handle this. They knew that in order to win this, they would be asking a lot of her. Basically, they needed her to break the code of honor she stood by for almostALLof her life.
“Thank you,” Chris stated.
The man didn’t mind.
“I’ll catch up with you guys when I can. Let’s get dinner later,” he stated. “She needs to eat. We all do,” Gene said, and then headed out, leaving them behind.
And none of them spoke.
Why?
What were they supposed to say?
This was uncharted territory.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
The Security Lounge
Same Time
A Little Break
Truthfully, it had been a long few days, and what Caspian needed was some food, to meditate, and to make a very personal call.
